Some might remember the travelogues of Tom Scott on youtube and then they ended. Why? Prohibitively expensive travel, plus the difficulties of international now, plus we were just not putting much into the coffers.
However, he has reappeared, has Tom, which makes this about Chris interesting:
I’d say we all, within this travelogue lovin’ sphere, appreciate any of this sort of thing … there was one who used to travel Britain’s roads … but it’s not without costs to the guy (or gal). Anyway, here’s this week’s from Chris Spargo:
What Chris discovered was that the power required to actually lift off was so great that he was cream-crackered thereafter, in the air. The Russian Ecranoplan discovered that too in that they needed engines just to lift off, which could then be shut down until the landing.
The Ecranoplan needed those 8 extra engines to overcome the huge drag of the hull while still in the water, and get it up to flying speed. Once airborne (and in ground effect) they were shut down, and the two on the tail were sufficient to keep it flying The pedal bike (by comparison) has virtually no drag from the undercarriage, and the rest is optimised for minimal aerodynamic drag and low speed flight. What it does show is how little power the average human body can produce, and sustain for any length of time…
……
JH: Aye.